If I Told You
by TheHolyDiver
Summary: Colt has been in Joel's care for some time. But when a young girl named Ellie who is immune to the infection that ravaged the world 20 years prior enters their lives, everything gets turned upside down. Rated M for language.


Tess waited impatiently as she rapped on the apartment door with her palm.

'Old fucker is still probably sleeping', she thought to herself

Just as she raised her fist to knock once more she heard the lock from the other side of the door click. From behind the door peaked a teenage boy.

"Hey Tess- shit what happened to you?"

"Doesn't matter, is Joel here?"

"Yeah, come in."

The young man opened the door and gestured for Tess to enter.

"I'll go wake him up," he sad as he strode toward Joel's room. The boy gently laid a hand on Joel's shoulder, giving it a light nudge which resulted in a sharp jerk. Joel bolted up at the contact, sucking in a deep and panicked breath. He immediately settled as his eyes fell on the young man at his bedside.

"The hell you doin' up," Joel asked.

"Couldn't sleep, Tess is here."

Joel nodded as he shoved himself off of his bed, his joints stiff in his advanced age. He proceeded to the kitchen where he saw Tess leaning against his coffee table, nursing a glass of scotch in her hand.

"Want one," Tess queried.

"No, I don't... want one," Joel replied tiredly.

"Well I have some interesting news for you."

"Where were you Tess?"

"West end district," she stated matter-of-factly, "Hey we had a drop to make."

"We. We had a drop to make," Joel replied, his words laced with irritation.

"Well, you wanted to be left alone remember?"

Joel turned his back on her with a shake of his head, he heaved an irritated sigh. Setting his hands down on the counter before continuing.

"So I'll take one guess, the whole deal went south and the client made off with our pills, is that about right?"

Tess began to chuckle at Joel's lack of faith in her capability.

"Deal went off without a hitch, enough ration cards to last us a couple months- easy."

"You wanna explain this," Joel asked, motioning to his face.

"I was on my way back here and I got jumped by these two assholes, alright? And yeah they got a few good hits in but- look I managed."

Joel released another one of his trademark sighs before snatching the rag Tess had been using to clean herself up with.

"Gimme that. Are these assholes still with us?"

Tess snorted, "That's funny."

"Look, did you at least find out who they were?" Joel asked visibly annoyed.

"Yeah look, they were a couple of nobodies, they don't matter. What matters is that Robert fucking sent them."

"Our Robert," Joel stated in disgust.

"Are you shitting me?" The boy piped up.

"He knows that we're after him, he figured that he's gonna get us first," Tess stated.

"Son of a bitch is smart," Joel replied.

"Two timin' son of a bitch," the boy said to himself.

"No, not smart enough. I know where he's hiding," Tess revealed.

"Like hell you do," Joel shot back.

"Old warehouse in area five. Can't say for how long though."

"I'm ready now, yeah?"

"I can do now," Tess responded.

"I can't miss out on this," the boy said with excitement.

"No, you're hangin' back," Joel barked.

"Aw c'mon, I won't get in the way, please Joel?"

Joel placed his hand on the boy's shoulder, "Not this time buddy. You can't miss repair duty again. We don't need the military up our ass now do we?"

"No sir," the boy replied, deflating a bit.

"Meet us at the north tunnel later tonight, that's where we'll be when we get our merchandise back, I'll let you handle the equipment, how does that sound?"

The boy brightened up, excitement glowing in his eyes, "Ok!"

"Be good, ya hear?"

"Always," the boy replied.

Joel patted his shoulder and offered him a slight smile before departing with Tess.

"Y'know, he's a good kid, a lot like you," Tess commented as they walked outside.

"That could be a good thing or a bad thing," Joel remarked, earning a scoff from Tess. "But you're right, kid's got a good head on his shoulders," he said softly.

Back at the apartment, the boy looked down at the wristwatch on his arm. It read eleven o' clock to which he sighed, knowing he had to be to work at the other side of the QZ in an hour.

"Better get ready," he said to himself.

He stripped off his shorts and t-shirt for a pair of worn jeans and a button up denim shirt with the sleeves cut off. He pulled on his steel toed boots and grabbed his walkman off of the counter before leaving the apartment.

As he entered the littered Boston QZ streets, he put in his earbuds while walking to the southern edge of the quarantine zone. He clicked play on the walkman and the sound of an old country tune filled his ears. He hummed along as he continued walking.

Eventually he approached a large garage where the sound of impact drills and hammers beating on metal could be heard. He plucked the earbuds out of his ears and entered into the shop. He was met by a large man in a military uniform holding a clipboard, standing at the entrance.

"Decided to show up today huh?" He sneered. He then checked a box next to the boy's name to confirm his attendance.

Just as the boy began to walk away the soldier opened his mouth.

"Larry the Cable Guy called, he wants his outfit back," the soldier then let out barks of laughter at his own joke.

The boy only rolled his eyes, knowing full well that physically engaging the soldier wouldn't be a wise decision. Not because he thought he'd lose, but because of the consequences he'd have to face from making a soldier swallow his teeth. Even worse, he'd have to face Joel, that was something he wanted to avoid at all costs.

The boy continued through the small room adjacent to the shop, to a row of lockers. He approached his designated locker, undoing the combination lock and setting his walkman inside. He then pulled out a cumbersome tool bag from inside the locker and a pair of safety glasses before shutting the locker.

He then stepped out into the shop area whe he was met with the numerous mechanics tending to military vehicles. He could semll fresh metal shavings in the air from the grinders used to grind away debris embedded in the trucks.

The boy had a love-hate relationship with his job. He liked turning wrenches and tearing things apart. He did not, however; care for doing it for the military, being the power-drunk bastards that they were.

He went to his workbench and set his tool bag down on it. There he was met by the warm countenance of his co-worker Carlos.

Carlos was an older man, late fifties to early sixties. He was from Cuba and moved to the United States about a decade before the infection. Carlos had taught the young man almost everything he knew about repair and maintenance, which being form Cuba was a lot.

"Hola mi amigo, how are you?"

"Not too bad, missed out on some action today," the boy replied.

Carlos chuckled, "What action?" He asked, smiling thorugh his salt and pepper mustache.

The boy leaned in and quietly spoke, "Joel and Tess are goin' after Robert."

"Dios mio," Carlos exclaimed, "About time that cabron gets what he deserves."

"That's what I'm sayin, so what do we have here?"

"Humvee, got shot up pretty bad in a Firefly ambush, fuckers had armor piercing rounds, you believe that? The block is probably damaged, might have to pull the engine and replace it completely."

Nothin' we can't handle," the boy replied as he popped the hood on the truck. Carlos grabbed his thermos off the workbench and poured a steaming cup of coffee for himself and his younger counterpart. The boy graciously took the cup, taking a few sips before getting to work

* * *

The boy made his way to the north tunnel, the sun was getting low on the horizon as the day transitioned into early evening. Words could not express how exhausted he was. Turned out the damage was far worse than either him or Carlos expected. The round had punctured through the engine block, blew apart the connecting rods and ricocheted throughout the cylinder. In short, the engine was fucked.

They made a note to the military that they were in desperate need of replacement engines and parts. They didn't have much, so mainly whenever a vehicle was brought into the shop, the mechanical crew had to jerry rig the problem until something else malfunctioned.

He felt the hot, late summer sun beat on his back as he continued through the ruined street of the Boston quarantine zone. He then heard the loud speakers announce that curfew was in full effect.

"Shit, better hustle."

He started into a slow jog until he rounded a corner and approached a platform with a ladder about ten feet above the ground.

He walked over to a small corner where he grabbed a hold of a dumpster. He pushed it with little effort until it was positioned under the ladder. He then clambered onto the dumpster and jumped onto the ladder, his boots clanging on the metal rungs.

He made his way through a littered crosswalk, the paint had long since peeled. Barely any windows were left in tact, mostly pieces of window panes littered the floor. Glass crunched under his boots as he proceeded into another apartment complex.

He reached the door at the end of the hallway. Turning the knob, he stepped over the threshold to find the room empty.

'Joel and Tess must have gotten caught up in something, they'll be alright' he thought to himself.

He walked over to a sink and scrubbed the grease caked on to his hands. After scrubbing his hands the best he could, he kicked off his boots and settled himself onto the couch in the middle of the room.

He tapped his fingers on the arm of the couch absentmidedly as he stared out the window. He felt his eyelids grow heavy as the days work on top of sleep deprivation left him completely exhausted. Just as he lowered his head he heard the door swing open, hearing Joel's familiar heavy footsteps.

What caught him off guard was the second pair, the didn't sound like Tess', her's were confident strides, this set was light and nimble.

"This is it," he heard Joel say.

'Who is he talking to?'

He peaked his head over the back-rest of the couch, he saw Joel's familiar wrinkled and gruff features. But he didn't recognize the young red-headed girl following behind him. She was short, with pale skin and freckles. She had her hair pulled into a ponytail and he noticed a scar above her eyebrow. She wasn't bad looking at all. In fact, she was beautiful.

"Who's this?" The boy asked.

"Cargo," Joel replied, "Scoot," he ordered as he walked over to the couch.

"I have a name ya know," the red-haired girl replied.

Joel only rolled his eyes as he kicked his feet up on the couch. He then closed his eyes, using his bag as a makeshift pillow.

"What am I supposed to do?" The girl whined.

"I am sure you'll figure that out," he replied curtly.

The girl glanced around the room until her gaze fell upon his wrist. "Your watch is broken."

The boy winced at her comment, knowing she had treaded on thin ice. Joel only scoffed as he drifted off to sleep.

So now here he was. Alone. In a room with a strange girl. Awkward.

He eyed his walkman as an escape, he quickly grabbed it and settled himself into one of the chairs that faced the window to the outside world. He popped in his earbuds and clicked the play button, an acoustic guitar backed by violins and a steel guitar played through the speakers.

He stared out the the window and a few songs had played before the girl had seated herself in the chair across from him. He shifted uncomfortably, tring to avoid eye contact and hoping she wouldn't talk to him.

The girl observed the boy's features. He had a stocky build, whatever he did was hard work. Short and messy light brown hair, tan skin, thick, angled eyebrows and slim lips. But what caught her attention was his eyes, they were unique, a combination of blue and green. She couldn't help but get lost in them, they looked so warm and inviting.

She had a weird feeling inside of her. She yearned to know who this boy was, to get to know him. Maybe he would be friends with her.

The boy felt eyes on him as he tried to keep his gaze on the deserted streets outside the window. Eventually the awkwardness became too much and he averted his attention over to the girl. He pulled one of his earbuds out and addressed her.

"Can I help you?" His voice rumbled from his chest.

She tried to hide her blush as she realized he had caught her staring. She quickly came up with a cover to save herself from embarrassment.

"What are you listening to?"

"Music," the boy replied laconically.

"Well no duh, like what song?"

"You probably wouldn't like it," he dismissed.

"Try me," she said with a wry grin.

The boy gave a look of defeat and waved her over. She hopped off her seat and sat on the armrest of his chair. He offered her the earbud he had removed earlier and she placed it within her ear. Her ears were met with the sound of an electric guitar as the lyrics filled her ear.

 _Dear mother told me, when I was young_

 _Come sit beside me, my only son_

 _And listen closely, to what I say_

 _And if you do this, it'll help you some sunny day_

 _Oh take your time_

 _Don't live too fast_

 _Troubles will come_

 _And they will pass_

 _You'll find a woman_

 _And you'll find love_

 _Just don't forget son_

 _There is some up above_

 _Baby be a simple- kind of man_

 _Be someone, you love and understand_

 _Baby be a simple- kind of man_

 _You can do this for me son, if you can_

She looked at him and a grin stretched across her face.

"I like it, it's fuckin' sweet," she replied.

The boy snickered, causing her to feel a sense of victory.

"Well here, you can borrow my walkman for now," he said as he handed her the object.

"Well what're you gonna do?"

"I like Joel's idea," he replied.

"Aww you too!?" She whined.

The boy smiled, leaning his head against the arm rest, closing his eyes.

She liked his smile, and felt proud of herself that she was the cause. "I'm Ellie," she blurted out.

She heard only silence from the boy, thinking he'd already fallen asleep. Without opening his eyes the boy replied:

"Colt."

She smiled warmly, placing the earbuds into her ears as she listened to Colt's music. She looked outisde and saw dark clouds rolling in from the horizon. Soon afer, rain began to softly patter on the window pane.


End file.
